Fan Favorites
by HAFanForever
Summary: Being a huge fan of Hey Arnold!, I decided to write this essay detailing my favorite episodes and why they are my favorites.


**Introduction**

Since I got back into _Hey Arnold!_ almost a year ago, it took me a long time to figure out my favorite episodes and rank them, particularly the top five. I always did like "Helga on the Couch," but after watching "Married" and learning how important it was, I had a hard time deciding between the two. I eventually got around to choosing three other episodes I really loved, though it again took me some more time to sort out these episodes from #1 to #5. But I eventually came to a decision, and even though I showed this list before in my shipping essay, here it is again:

#1. "Helga on the Couch"  
#2. "Married"  
#3. "The Journal"  
#4. "Summer Love"  
#5. "Arnold's Christmas"

And like I also said in the aforementioned essay, other favorite episodes of mine include "Sid the Vampire Slayer," "Buses, Bikes, and Subways," "Beaned," and "Arnold Visits Arnie," though I have yet to decide how to rank these episodes.

So I will give summaries on my favorite episodes and analyses on some of the longer ones, along with some of my personal thoughts, and I'll throw in some trivial facts as an added bonus. So enjoy what I have to say about my favorite episodes of _Hey Arnold!_, especially my top five!

"**Helga on the Couch"**

Since I already wrote an essay for this very episode, I won't say too much here. But like I have said, it's pretty easy to see why "Helga on the Couch" is a fan favorite, and it's probably the #1 favorite episode with many Helga fans. Helga is one of the most complex characters on television, animated or otherwise. With her personality and her relationship with Arnold, it really brings out the psychological elements that are present in the show, so "Helga on the Couch" is a great therapeutic episode that focuses on her psyche and makes us understand her even more than we did before: the truth about her family, her kind, poetic, romantic side along with her bullying, aggressive, and hostile side, how she became a bully, and the origin of her limerence towards Arnold.

"Helga on the Couch" really helped me to understand Helga a lot better and gain a new respect for her when I first saw it. Even now, when I watch episodes where she seems to go overboard with her behavior towards Arnold, I just think back on this episode and realize that she acts this way because of how rotten her home life is (though playing pranks and playful jokes are more or less just part of her charm and how she likes to have fun, and it doesn't mean she's outright cold and heartless, just like Arnold believes). I still get teary when I watch the scene where she walks to preschool alone, but then I get an uplift when Arnold comes to her rescue. The moment when Arnold and Helga first met is a very crucial moment in the series, and I'll never forget that moment in the episode.

• In this episode, Helga's shrine is connected to "The Clapper" (one of those things that turn electrical appliances on and off when you clap twice).  
• When Helga is headed for her first session, Phoebe appears to be carrying a string bass.  
• Helga says Olga goes to Bennington College, but in "Olga Comes Home," it's Wellington College.  
• Helga's lunchbox looks like a Charlie's Angels lunchbox (this was before the movie version was released).  
• Young Gerald is wearing his "3" shirt (instead of a "33" shirt), as he did in "Eugene's Bike."  
• Being a special episode centered on Helga, Jim Lang wrote a special theme for the credits.  
• This is the first episode where someone other than Arnold is credited first.  
• The episode paid a special thanks to "Franny," or Francesca Marie Smith, the voice of Helga.

"**Married"**

My friend NintendoGal55 wrote an essay on this very episode after I persuaded her to and gave an excerpt of it in her own shipping essay, as did I. In it, Arnold and Helga each have dreams of marriage after they are paired together by Rhonda's origami marriage predictor. They are both at opposite ends of the spectrum, with Arnold calling it a nightmare and that he'll never go through with it, while Helga is over the moon about it, calling it a dream come true and that she will marry him one day.

This moment is actually one reason why I find the episode interesting because it shows Arnold and Helga switching personalities. Arnold is being realistic in this situation because he doesn't believe the love calculator will really predict who he will one day marry, and when he takes the test and gets Helga, he is very freaked out and against the idea. But he is being very practical about it because he is flat-out determined not to let it happen and doesn't believe it will ever happen. But Helga becomes idealistic and less realistic because she believes that she is destined to marry Arnold and is very happy to hear that he is paired up with her, and she believes it will come true after he takes the test 110 times and always gets her! Then she has her crazy and wild dream about them being happily married.

Moving onto the dreams, Arnold's dream is the most important one: it begins as a nightmare, with Helga being dominant and tricking him into marrying her, symbolizing how she usually ruins a good thing for him in real life. In the end, it comes out for the better because he confronts her about her behavior and she nearly confesses that she loves him. Some of her lines in this moment are very similar to what she said her monologue in the beginning of the episode, which clues in that Arnold must have heard some of it when she was hiding behind some trash cans and he found her there. It also shows that he knows subconsciously that Helga loves him and that he very likely feels the same way, but that his true feelings are possibly repressed, and he may be a bit in denial about them just as much as she is.

Even though Arnold's dream is more important in regards to his feelings for Helga, I think a big reason why this episode a fan favorite is partly due to Helga's dream, namely to fans of the pair. I see it as sort of a request by fans of ArnoldxHelga because they want to see something that shows them together in a romantic manner, even if it is a silly dream. It's really just a little bonus that is meant to be a fan service and not to be taken seriously. I'll admit that even I can't get through watching this episode without smiling and laughing at moments during her dream (particularly when they Eskimo kiss and whenever Lila is trying to get in the way and Helga gets rid of her!).

And, of course, the end scene is my favorite part in the whole episode, and one of my favorite scenes in the show. I think we fans of the pair should thank Phoebe for having that thought since it shows that she knows how much Arnold means to Helga, and having such a thought proves how good of a friend she is. And the atmosphere is not exaggerated or put down in any way, it's just perfect: romantic, realistic, peaceful, and tranquil. I can definitely see that vision in their future together, and it only makes me happier since, being a huge fan of the pair, I know and have accepted the fact that Arnold and Helga are meant for each other.

"**The Journal"**

I already gave an excerpt on this episode as well in my TJM essay, so I won't go into details about its plot summary, but the overall plot of "The Journal" is that it occurs on the anniversary of the day Arnold's parents left him and never came back. Therefore, he feels more sad and alone than usual. While he is thankful to have his grandparents for being the people who take care of him and love him so much, despite their eccentric behaviors, he just can't help but dwell on the fact that there is something missing from his life. He was just a baby when his parents left him and they never came back after being away for so many years, so he barely remembers them. Because of this particular day, Arnold feels even more upset and lonely, not just because he doesn't have parents like everyone else he knows, but because he doesn't know the truth of why they have been gone for so long. But when he unexpectedly finds his father's journal, Arnold suddenly sparks interest in learning more about his parents. Since he never knew them, reading about his parents' adventures together in San Lorenzo helps him to learn a lot more about them (especially since the stories Miles wrote were the truth, unlike most of Phil's stories!) and their relationships with the Green-Eyed people.

What I like most about "The Journal" is that we learn a greater deal about Arnold's parents and their pasts. But I also have to admit that the subject of it often makes me feel sad, and I think that fans could feel sorry for Arnold in this episode, more than they would in "Parents Day." The first time I saw this, I thought the beginning was too good to be true to see Arnold with his parents, and I concluded that it was all just a dream before we see Arnold wake up. That scene broke my heart, especially when we saw that Arnold was alone in the boat before waking up. When I learned that this episode was made to be a setup for _The Jungle Movie_, the film that was subsequently never made and we fans were never given a proper conclusion as to what happened to Miles and Stella (along with never seeing Arnold and Helga officially get together), watching this episode occasionally makes me sad for that reason, and seeing the cliffhanger ending with Arnold finding the map also makes it hard for me to watch the episode sometimes. Still, I like to hold out the positive thought that Arnold would find his parents in TJM, so that that and his getting together with Helga would have been the best way to end the series on a happy note. And even if the movie is never made, I still hope that something will happen one day that reveals the truth and gives the series the proper conclusion it deserves.

• Arnold found the journal in the attic, but isn't Arnold's room supposed to be the attic?  
• Arnold's parents' names are Miles and Stella. Stella is the Latin and Italian word for "star," and is the feminine version of the male Greek name "Stelios," a name used to honor St. Stylianos, an orthodox saint. She was likely named after Antoinette Stella, one of the show's writers who also performed her voice.  
• Miles is an anthropologist (he studies humanity) and Stella is a physician (a general medical doctor) and a botanist (she studies plants and fungi).  
• Miles tells Stella not to look at La Corazón, which is an homage to the ending of _Raiders of the Lost Ark,_ when Indiana Jones says not to look at the Ark of the Covenant. Another Indiana Jones reference occurs when Miles uses his whip to catch the loose tram.  
• We learn from this episode that Abner was a wedding present to Arnold's parents from the Green-Eyed people. Phil wanted to eat Abner right after he was given to Miles and Stella, and he was nearly eaten again in "The Pig War." (And where did Phil get a barbecue grill in the middle of the San Lorenzo jungle?)  
• This episode also gives the hint of Arnold's conception: we see the text of the page of the journal before Phil rips it out, and it says: "It was the hottest night the jungle had ever known, and I'm not talking Centigrade…Stella was unbelievably beautiful, wearing nothing but a smile. Trembling, I took a step towards" (the page ends there). Interestingly enough, it was rated "TV-Y," despite this hint of sex (and the show has had many other subtle innuendos). However, it is obvious that Stella is dressed in the scene just before Phil slams the book closed.  
• The page from the above mentions "Centigrade," which is the old word for "Celsius" (the metric temperature scale). As a scientist, Miles uses metric measurements a lot (another place in the journal has a distance listed in kilometers).  
• Phil's fortune cookie said "13 13 666." This can hardly be considered a good fortune, as 13 is infamous for being an unlucky number, while 666 is the mark of the Anti-Christ in the Book of Revelation in the Bible.  
• As he dives for the runaway tram, Miles yells "Stella!", in almost the same way Stanley Kowalski does in _A Streetcar Named Desire_.  
• When they go back to San Lorenzo from Rio, the written journal mentions "the Rio San Lorenzo," which means the San Lorenzo River.  
• Stella discovers that the Green-Eyes have fallen ill from a sleeping sickness. While this is a real disease, it is caused by a parasite and located in primarily in Africa. There is a closely related disease called Chagas disease (sometimes called American sleeping sickness) that is found exclusively in South and Central America.  
• We learn the origin of Arnold's birth in this episode. A nearby volcano was erupting, but eventually stopped and the nature in the surrounding area went silent when Arnold was born, and his parents called him a "miracle baby." This is an excellent point in explaining how he is such a peacemaker, has accomplished many miraculous things for his age, and can calm down Helga in her fiery tempers. (Also, he was born with pretty much a full head of hair!)  
• Arnold was named after Stella's father, and when she gives Arnold his name, she says, "It was my dad's name," which implies that Arnold's other grandfather had died before he was born (otherwise, she would have said "is" instead of "was"). She never mentions her mother, though it is implied that both her parents are dead, since Arnold's "other grandparents" are never seen or mentioned during the series, not even during the wedding scene in this episode, even though Phil and Gertie were in attendance. This information helps to confirm that Phil and Gertie are indeed Arnold's paternal grandparents, which means they are Miles's parents.  
• This episode shows the first time "Hey Arnold" was said to Arnold in his life: it was the first thing Miles said to him after he was born.  
• This episode puts a kink in the theory of Arnold being born in October. His parents left him on October 5th, and "Married" confirms that he was born on the seventh of a month. Fans believe that Arnold's birthday is on October 7th, the day the show first aired on television. Also, Bartlett has called Arnold a Libra and said that he would turn ten and be in fifth grade in TJM. But the flaw here is that Miles and Stella were with Arnold on his first birthday, meaning he would be likely born before October. The other possible theory is that they could have disappeared two days before Arnold's second birthday, making it even more tragic.  
• In some scenes during this episode and in "Parents Day," baby Arnold wears a light blue shirt and a diaper, the same attire as Tommy from _Rugrats_.  
• The music for the credits is a remake of the "Parents Day" credits theme as well as the same music played following Arnold's birth.

"**Summer Love"**

I have a few humorous and serious reasons as to why I like this episode. The subplots of Phil thinking he's stuck on an island and Bob getting a terrible sunburn are the moments at which I laugh the most. When Helga is also playing pranks on Arnold and Summer to try and break them up, I'm routing for her all the way because even though we don't find out until afterwards that Summer is just using Arnold, she deserves what Helga does (though I do think it was a little cruel to do it to Arnold). And then Helga exposes Summer's deceitful nature before Arnold can enter the sand castle competition with her and face being hurt and humiliated by her.

But I also wanted to address what I thought what is important in this episode. This is one time when Helga seems to be at her worst with Arnold. In the beginning, she bangs into him, knocking them both over and she blames him for it, saying that she wants out of the school the moment it's over, then she insults him: "And I'll tell you another thing, monkey face, this is gonna be the best vacation ever because I'll be far, far away from you!" Then she scowls and stomps away, with Gerald saying he'll never miss Helga. Arnold is only too happy to agree: "I agree, Gerald. I _definitely_ agree!" Helga is actually sad that she's going to be away from him, but when they see each other at the beach house, she just continues her hostile act, ending with "As a matter of fact, I still hate your stinkin' guts! So you better just stay the heck outta my way, got it?" Arnold is only too happy to do that, and says so after she leaves. Then after Helga pulls her third prank on Arnold and Summer, he overhears her laughing to herself about what she did. He tells her he heard everything she said, then says, "if you're through being mean to me and Summer for no reason at all, I'd really appreciate it if you'd take your own advice and just stay out of my way for good!"

Like I said in my shipping essay, if Helga is always as nasty to Arnold as she is in this episode, she will push him away for good and he may never love her back, which is just what she fears if she told him her secret. She actually addresses this after Arnold catches her, feeling guilty and sorry for what she has done: "Why have I allowed my causal cruelties to push Arnold away from me, maybe forever? Oh, my darling, if only you knew how sorry I am!" Since this episode shows a time when she is at her worst with how she treats him, with the loud, harsh insults and mean, harmful pranks, I think it pushes his own true feelings away into his head and that he is in denial of them. I also wonder if her constant torture towards him makes him so fed up now and then and that it even gives him mixed feelings about his claim of believing that she is a good person and that he likes her when she's not being a bully. What I mean by that is that the denial of his own feelings might make him believe that she really isn't a good person and that he doesn't like her or trust her since this is the treatment he receives from her on a daily basis. I mean, he agreed with Gerald about never missing Helga and was angry when he told her to stay out of his way, so I think that counts for something. And all because she had been harassing him so much up to this point, he refuses to believe her claims of Summer being "a horrible scheming monster," even though she is not being aggressive and tries to reason with him, and even addresses him by his name. He even makes an "I don't believe you" face at her when she claims that "I'm warning you because I don't want to see you get hurt."

But in the end, it does come out for the better, because Helga exposes Summer's plan to Arnold, then apologizes for hurting him with the truth. He also apologizes to Helga for not listening to her and smiles at her when she admits that she didn't want to sit back and not do something. Then they enter the competition together and win, proving that they can make an awesome team when they put their differences aside. When they film _Babewatch_ together, they kiss for the second time when Helga is meant to be a lifeguard giving Arnold mouth-to-mouth. So I think the fact that Helga that helped Arnold get out of Summer's scheme (then kissed him again for a long time!) helps him believe that she truly doesn't hate him as much as she lets on. Still at this time, we are unsure if he believes that she truly hates him, given the good times they do have together. But maybe since she did something nice for him while breaking away from her repetitive bullying behavior, this could help him to gradually look past her mean front and realize that she's the right girl for him.

• Despite the title and the beach setting, it's not summer, as it's only a week's vacation. The episode's working title was "Beach Story," which is also how it originally appeared in online TV listings.  
• Despite the beach area being popular, Arnold is the only one on the beach at the beginning. His shorts are the same pattern as the shirt he normally wears (and isn't he a little old for a pail and shovel?)  
• This episode shows a moment where Miriam is so hammered that she has to think to remember her own name. (As she introduces herself to Suzie, she says, "I'm…Miriam. I'm Miriam.")  
• Suzie is seen reading a book called "The Smith Caper." This may be a reference to the mysterious boarder Mr. Smith, who hasn't been seen or heard from since the first season.  
• Summer refers to Arnold as "a kid," but how old is she? And what does Arnold see in "older girls?" (First Ruth, then Maria, now Summer…)  
• When the raft holding Arnold and Summer pops, it throws them into the air as if it was a bomb, and both of them defy gravity for a moment before landing.  
• Arnold tells Summer that she's nicer than a lot of girls at his school (mostly meaning Helga), but doesn't he consider Lila (or Phoebe) "nice?"  
• Arnold calls Summer's boyfriend Sandy by name, but nobody mentioned his name to him before he said it. Also, he was voiced by Phillip Van Dyke, the second voice actor for Arnold.  
• Some episodes, such as "Olga Comes Home," show that Helga's bow is "permanently" tied and is attached to her hair with elastic, but others, including this one, show that it's tied directly to her hair and can be unraveled into a straight ribbon.  
• _Babewatch_ is obviously named after the show _Baywatch_.  
• The clapboard for the _Babewatch_ episode has the date July 22, 1999.

"**Arnold's Christmas"**

With Christmas approaching, Helga decides to search for the perfect Christmas present for Arnold to impress him. When Arnold is chosen to be Mr. Hyunh's secret Santa, he hears the story of Mr. Hyunh's long lost daughter Mai, and decides to search the city for her to reunite them together for Christmas. He makes a deal with a government agent named Mr. Bailey to do his Christmas shopping if Mr. Bailey will find Mai. But Arnold cannot find the last item, a pair of Nancy Spumoni snow boots, so Mr. Bailey will not help him. Ironically, this is the one item Helga wants most for Christmas, and learns that this will help Arnold get what he wants most. She is given a pair as an early Christmas present, but because Arnold means so much to her, she decides to give up her pair and works with Mr. Bailey to try and locate Mai. On Christmas morning, Arnold's home gets a visitor, none other than Mai! She and her father are overjoyed to be together again, and while Arnold is also happy, he is also shocked and asks Gerald (who helped him buy the gifts for Mr. Bailey) how it happened, and Gerald says that he must have a "Christmas angel." That "angel" is none other than Helga, who is standing outside the boarding house and watched the whole thing. With a smile on her face, she wishes Arnold a Merry Christmas.

I love this episode for more reasons than it just being an episode that revolves around Christmas, my favorite time of the year. For a kid, Arnold knows the true meaning of Christmas, and that exchanging gifts is done to show others how much you care about them, and when you give someone a present, it should be unique to show how much you care. It contrasts to Helga's initial thoughts that Christmas is all about getting presents and spending money. But when she decides to give up her boots to help Arnold, she learns the true meaning of Christmas. This also shows one of Helga's most notable and generous deeds in helping Arnold, proving that there is goodness and kindness in her just like he believes. The fact that she gives up her own material gain proves how much she cares for him, and that she's happy the most when he's happy.

• Nancy Spumoni is the daughter of Dino Spumoni, the famous Italian-American singer who lives in Arnold's city. Dino was partially based on singers Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, who also had a daughter named Nancy. Nancy Sinatra had her own career as a singer, and one of her hit songs was "These Boots Are Made for Walking."  
• The snow boots in this episode were the "must have" Christmas gift in Arnold's city. In 1996, the "must have" gift of the year was the Tickle Me Elmo doll. Many parents literally fought other parents in North American toy stores to purchase one of the toys for Christmas. The short supply of the toy, due to unexpected demand, caused stores to raise the price on the dolls drastically. The very day "Arnold's Christmas" aired, a Wal-Mart clerk named Robert Waller was severely injured at a store in Fredericton, New Brunswick, when a crowd of 300 stampeded down the aisle after spotting him being handed a box of the toys by another employee.  
• This episode reveals a deeper amount of information about Mr. Hyunh than any other episodes in the series, and although the name of his country is never mentioned, it is largely hinted that he is originally from Vietnam.

"**Sid the Vampire Slayer"**

Sid becomes convinced that Stinky is a vampire since all this stuff comes up after watching a vampire movie: Stinky showing off his sunglasses, turning down garlic bread at lunch, and getting excited about a school blood drive (though it was all obviously done for coincidence and helping with the story). Sid tries convince Arnold by taking a picture in which Stinky doesn't appear (because he wasn't in the spot when Sid, who wasn't looking, took it), showing him Stinky's partially eaten bologna sandwich (believing the teeth marks are really fang marks), and catching a bat that flew out of Stinky's window (believing it's Stinky in his vampire bat state). While Arnold is not convinced at all, Sid is determined to prove it, and even plans to eliminate Stinky with a rubber, squeaky toy sword. He and Arnold go to Stinky's house and Arnold manages to confirm everything with Stinky about what Sid saw that still made him think Stinky is a vampire: wearing a cloak (actually his night shirt), biting the neck of a goat (really a stuffed goat off of which Stinky was biting a loose thread), and the coffin in his living room (really a tanning bed). It isn't until Sid looks in a mirror and sees that Stinky has a reflection that he realizes he was wrong (since vampires don't have reflections). However, the episode ends with Stinky in his room, thinking about and laughing over the night's events, then lightning flashes and Stinky is shown with some fangs instead of normal teeth…

I enjoy this episode because it shows how realistic Arnold is for his age and acting as the voice of his reason with his friends. It's also very funny and a great example in showing how superstitious, stubborn, and paranoid Sid is by overreacting and jumping to some very ridiculous conclusions.

• This episode title is obviously named after the series _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_.  
• Sid plans to eliminate Stinky with a rubber sword, but a vampire can only be killed by a wooden stake being driven through the heart.

"**Beaned"**

During a school day, Arnold helps Rhonda, Harold, Sid, and Stinky out of small jams, and Helga is in the background, suffering from the misfortunes that could have befallen the others. She gets hit by a baseball from Arnold and develops amnesia. Feeling responsible, Arnold willingly takes care of her until she recovers, including walking her home, fixing her a snack, reading a homework chapter to her, and even tucking her in when she falls asleep. (Cute!)When Helga recovers and learns from her mother that Arnold helped her, she decides to pretend to have amnesia for a longer amount of time so she can be with him. He comes to walk her to school and shares his umbrella with her when it starts raining, and they actually walk together arm-in-arm. When they get to school, Helga notices the flowers, and Arnold actually gives her one and says that she deserved it. Throughout the day, she comes up with ways to continue being with Arnold, even when her cover is almost blown, and sometimes being a little bit ridiculous in her behavior, such as when she gets Arnold to feed her the chocolate pudding. But eventually, she realizes that Arnold is suffering by making sacrifices in order to be with her, so she decides to pretend that she gets her memory back in order to set him free. And even in the end, when he offers to walk her home and she says he doesn't have to, he says that he wants to because he wants to make sure she's okay, and she even thanks him. Helga acts hostile when he tries to carry her books, but as they leave, she smiles to herself and thinks on how generous Arnold is being now even while she's back to herself.

What I love about this episode is that it shows us that Arnold does care about Helga and is worried when something bad happens to her, and seeing them spend time together and getting along, even though it's because Helga's in an amnesiac state, is a treat for fans of the pair (especially when they hold hands and link their arms!). Although it's small, Helga's sacrifice at the end also helps to show that she cares more about him than herself. And I especially love Helga's thoughts after Arnold gives her the flower: "Arnold just gave me a flower! I think I'm gonna die!" (I also wouldn't be surprised if she later saved it with her shrine like she does with all other items related to Arnold.)

• Helga says she wishes Arnold would buy a one-way ticket to "a galaxy far, far away," an obvious reference to the words shown before the beginning of every _Star Wars_ film.  
• Before she gets hit by the ball (interestingly enough, no one seemed to notice that it was heading for Helga), Helga rants about Arnold barely notices that she exists, which is ironic for her to say, since we saw in "Helga on the Couch" how he was the first person to really notice or be kind to her (and interestingly enough, the four kids Arnold helps earlier are the very same ones who teased Helga in preschool for showing signs of having a crush).  
• When she continues faking amnesia, Helga refers to Arnold as Archibald, Arliss, Oswald, Archie, Artemis, Arlo, Ambrose, and Andrew.  
• The case of Helga's amnesia is called post-traumatic amnesia, which occurs due to a head injury. This type of amnesia may include retrograde, anterograde, or a mixture of both, and Helga seems to exhibit both forms. Retrograde amnesia means Helga remembers nothing before being hit and anterograde amnesia means she has trouble forming new memories after being hit.  
• Helga pretends to get her memory back by hitting her head on the water fountain. A lot of other cartoons do this, making people believe that another blow to the head will cure the amnesia, obviously because they lost their memory that way and can only get it back that way faster. However, this is not true; another blow to the head does not cure the amnesia, and it is possible that it will only make the amnesia worse.

"**Buses, Bikes, and Subways"**

I enjoy this episode because it is very creative in the title and plot being very similar to _Planes, Trains and Automobiles_. Helga is just like Steve Martin's character Neal, as both are uptight, sticklers for punctuality who are trying to get to their desired locations on time (WrestleMania for Helga and home to Chicago for Thanksgiving for Neal) through other means of transportation (bikes and subways for Helga and trains and cars for Neal) after a problem occurs for their main source (Neal's flight is cancelled while Helga misses the bus). Harold is just like John Candy's character Del, as both are fat slobs who become the traveling partner of the main characters. The paired characters in their respective stories encounter a series of mishaps in their transportations that are the fault of the partner. Eventually, Helga finally blows up at Harold and blames him for everything that's happened, just like when Neal lets out a big blow up at Del after several misfortunes have occurred to them. But Helga and Harold eventually make to WrestleMania and she apologizes to him for being mean. Likewise, Neal discovers that Del has actually been homeless ever since his wife died, and he finally gets home, inviting Del to spend the holiday with him and his family.

• Gerald says that Chocolate Boy (who stowed away on their field trip) isn't in their class, and Arnold says, "He's not even in our grade." This makes it sound as if P.S. 118 has more than one fourth grade class.  
• Chocolate Boy jumps into a vat of chocolate and swims in it, much like when Augustus Gloop falls into Willy Wonka's chocolate river in _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_.

"**Arnold Visits Arnie"**

I don't think I even need to explain a great deal as to why this is one of my favorite episodes ever. NintendoGal55 and an anonymous author each wrote an essay on this episode that explains the importance of Arnold's relationships with Lila and Helga. Their essays helped me to write a small analysis on it in my ArnoldxHelga shipping essay and my essay "Love As True As Time." I'll admit, when I first saw this episode, I didn't understand its purpose and noticed that it had some plot holes: Arnold didn't play baseball with his friends because he said he was going to Arnie's, yet he was supposed to visit the next day (and did he ever go visit Arnie at all?). And at the end, Arnold comes to Gerald Field in his pajamas, which have teddy bears on them (and I've never seen those before). The story moves so swimmingly that it's hard to tell it is a dream, and I myself thought it was real until I saw the end, and I just thought the purpose of the story was for freakiness. But now that I have watched it many times and read those essays, I truly understand how important it is in showing Arnold's feelings towards Helga and Lila (not to mention I think it's funny, what with seeing that Arnold dreams that Arnie has friends who are the exact antitheses of his own friends).

Lulu is very much of a slut for her age, with her promiscuity and harassments towards Arnold, and we see through Arnold's repulsion by her actions that he would never seek someone like her or take the easy way by choosing a lusty fling over true love. She is Lila's antithesis, and was made to show that she is not the true girl for Arnold. Now Hilda is different from the other members of Arnie's group of friends (meant to be the antitheses of Arnold's friends) since she is really Helga without her mean front. While we know that Arnold likes Helga when she's not being mean, we see that Hilda is who Helga truly is, and that he has gone beyond just liking her. With Hilda, we see that Arnold would have likely fallen for Helga a long time ago if she wasn't a bully. I even think it's very possible that he felt the same way about her when they first met in preschool, especially when he complimented her bow and gave her his crackers. But after she became a bully and started picking on him, his feelings were pushed away into his subconscious and became repressed; therefore he has a hard time coming to terms with them because he doesn't get a good treatment from her on a daily basis.

When Arnie was first introduced in "Weird Cousin," it was all seen with one-sided relationships from the characters: Arnold likes Lila, Lila loves Arnie, Arnie loves Helga, and Helga loves Arnold. I think that "Arnold Visits Arnie" was made to complete this cycle because we see the exact opposite in Arnie's world: Lulu likes Arnold, Arnold loves Hilda, Hilda loves Arnie, and Arnie loves Lulu. (Just on the side, it is assumed that Arnie loves Lulu since she's his girlfriend, but since he is Arnold's antithesis, he doesn't seem to make any effort between Lulu and Hilda; rather, he just accepts them by his side.) With this mirror image, it can help show that Arnold is subconsciously aware that Helga loves him and that he does feel the same way. Helga is the girl he is looking for while Lila is better off as just his friend.

I think the best part of this episode is towards the end when Arnold gives Helga a hug. While I said before that this is hinted that he did this because his subconscious is giving him a nudge towards Helga to help realize that she's the one for him, NintendoGal55 actually suggested that what he says to her was also his way of expressing it: he says "Wow, Helga, it really is you!", and that what he's really saying (in his own way) is "It's you! You're my true love!" And we all know that Helga is wondering why Arnold just suddenly hugged her out of the blue (unlike his motives in "Arnold's Hat" and "Runaway Float"). From her point of view, he acted like he missed her and was genuinely happy to see her. It is possible that she is thinking that she is getting closer to having him like her in return, and this is played out when she goes behind the scoreboard, takes out her locket, and sighs lovingly while wearing a huge smile.

**Conclusion**

So that covers all of my favorite episodes of _Hey Arnold!_ I do have others I like a lot, but I will share some of those in my next essay and the essay that will eventually follow that one.

I'm sure many of my friends on dA and FF who are fans of the show as well as fans of ArnoldxHelga enjoy some of these very same episodes for the same reasons as I do, and I hope that they will enjoy what I had to say about some of them, including the mini analyses on the long ones and the trivial facts for some of those as well.

Thanks again for reading and have a good day!


End file.
